Tracking Tak
by Paradoxal Reality
Summary: Dib reflects on his dealings with Tak, and she does the same.
1. Default Chapter

A/Note: Wow, how about Tak, huh? Dib seemed to like her, didn't he? Well I think so. I wanted to do a short fluffy thing about it, so here goes! And this time, it's in the first person, from Dib's p.o.v.! And yes, I probably am reading way too much into it all. Correction: Dib's last name whatever it is, taken off. *shrugs* Nick.com sucks on super-toast and kills my poor browser; I never even saw the full site until tonight, I'm serious. The over-use of Flash should be punishable by rabid sewer rats. Whaddaya gonna do? Ah well. Thanks for pointing it out.  
  
"Tracking Tak"  
  
Okay, I admit that I was shocked. I'm not certain what shocked me more, though… The fact that Tak really was an alien… or that Zim had come to me for help.  
  
To be fair, I guess I had it coming. Heh, I mean think about it. I, Dib; the self-proclaimed paranormalist and protector of the Earth, the person who fancied himself the most capable of identifying any and all alien threats… was totally taken in by one. I never suspected, even for a moment. What was there to suspect? She only arrived in a freaky airship with a strange specter of a cat-like thing, immediately won over the entire class with free weenies, and then attacked the resident alien for no apparent reason with incredible viciousness that suggested a long-time, deep abiding hatred.  
  
Maybe I'm slipping. Looking back on it, it seems really obvious.  
  
I suppose that the fact that an attractive-looking female was willingly spending time with me, listening to my endless lectures on aliens, Zim, ghosts, aliens, werewolves… and I might even have mentioned aliens a time or two also… and Zim. I guess I should be glad that I didn't proclaim myself the sole hope of all humanity. She might have blown me to kingdom come right then and there.  
  
She sat there, quietly listening, as I went on and on… I was an informant for an alien invader! It's a bit humiliating. Sure, she would have figured out that most of humanity is pretty stupid and inobservant eventually. But I can't help but think that I accelerated the timetable a bit.  
  
And still… I can't hate her for it.  
  
Yeah, you heard me. I can't. I remember accusing Zim of being jealous when he tried to tell me the truth about her. I accused him of being jealous. Jealous because I thought she was spending time with me because she liked me. Jealous because all the attempts he'd been making all week long to get her romantic attention had backfired on him horribly. I mean, the gifts, the flowers… you'd have had to have been blind not to see him trying valiantly to play the gallant boyfriend. Just about the only thing he hadn't tried was removing his coat or shirt and putting it over a puddle for her to walk over.  
  
If it had rained at all that week, he probably would have, regardless of the chemical reaction that the water would have caused.  
  
But she rebuffed his attempts. I celebrated inwardly. I'd turn around in class to talk to her, tell her some story of my exploits defending the Earth against Zim. Miss Bitters either didn't notice my inattentiveness to her lectures or figured I was too doomed anyway for it to make any difference. So I sat next to her at every opportunity, giddily telling her everything she needed to know. I practically handed her the Earth, considering that I shied from no subject in my lectures, and then tried to deny the idea of her true identity…  
  
Blast it all, why can't I hate her?  
  
I remember seeing her for the first time for real. I mean really seeing HER, not her disguise. I'd conned my way into Zim's base for it. Sure, I wanted to save the Earth. I'm not totally dense. I'd accepted that she obviously was an alien threat. But the idea that sprang into my head when Gaz held up that memory module, the notion that along with Tak's plans, that there might be an image of the real her, over-rode just about anything else.  
  
I think I agreed to let Zim feed my brain to his robot or something. I don't really remember for sure. Everything sort of became hazy, after I got that idea of seeing her. I would have done just about anything for a glimpse of what she really looked like under that hologram.  
  
I guess the most shocking thing was how much she *didn't* look like Zim. The eyes, so deep purple they were very nearly black… her long gracefully curved antennae… I recall wondering about that strange apparatus affixed to her head. It sounds so… strange to be thinking this way about someone who's not even my own species! Nothing in my encounters with Zim had prepared me for this. Sure, he looked strange, downright weird, even. When it comes down to it, Zim was just alien. Tak, she was *exotic*.  
  
From the moment she'd sat down behind me and smiled, I'd been.. something… I'm not sure what to call it. Intrigued, perhaps. Now, I was entranced. It wasn't enough to have seen her image. I wanted to see her in person. To see that face in conjunction with hearing her voice… I forgot about Gaz. I walked right out and left her there in Zim's base. I told him that I'd shut off the magma pumps in her base to secure a ride.  
  
I never thought that she'd actually go up in her ship to fight him. I assumed that she would send her ship out as a distraction and would retreat into her base to wait while Zim chased her ship fruitlessly across the skies until it was too late for anyone to stop her.  
  
Okay, so I was wrong.  
  
I was wrong about a lot of things.  
  
How did I miss that huge on/off switch? Simple. I wasn't looking for it. I was looking for… her. I scoured every surface and shadow searching for either the inviting human image that she'd disguised herself with, or the startling, striking otherworldly beauty of her true self. I found neither. It was only after I'd raced through the entire building that I allowed myself to see the switch that had supposedly been my target.  
  
With an inward sigh, I reached to turn it off. So she hadn't stayed to make sure nothing went wrong. She'd gone out to battle Zim, to prevent him from destroying her plan. I expected her to come back. I just knew that she would. She'd come back, and I'd be there. And I'd convince her to wait just a little while before trying to turn the Earth into a giant piñata for her.. Tallers or whatever they called themselves. She'd object, but I just knew that she'd relent. After all, she was the alien with the upper hand, wasn't she?  
  
I'd talk to her. I'd remind her what a great time we'd had together, making Zim miserable. I'd tell her all the good things about the Earth. I'd win her over somehow! After all, if what she'd said in her message to the Tallest was true, we had so much in common. Both outcasts constantly denied the chance to prove themselves for no good reason! Frustrated! Alone!  
  
But she never came.  
  
Late that evening, I went home. Not trusting Zim to come back and pick me up, I instead decided to take the smelly, noisy bus all the way from downtown. My world was crushed. I saw Zim's ship re-enter the atmosphere and fire a gratuitous volley of laser shots at the gigantic hot dog stand as the last rays of sunset painted the skies in brilliant violet tribute to she who had so nearly destroyed this fragile world that I loved and had sworn to protect. So he'd made it. That probably meant that she hadn't.  
  
But still… I could hear some inner voice whispering to me, the one that had always assured me that aliens existed, that I should keep going no matter the ridicule… that small inner voice that had always been right in the end… It seemed to think that she was alright.  
  
That night, I sat outside, watching the sparkling glory of the distant stars. "Don't you just want to fly out there and see it all?" I asked Gaz. She looked up and shrugged indifferently. She probably knew that I wasn't really talking about looking for new galaxies, or contacting other civilizations. In her strange, uncanny way of seeing through things, I know that she knew I was only interested in looking for one particular alien. And it wasn't the one who would be in school tomorrow, idly trying to fit in with the rest of the class between attempts to conquer the planet.  
  
Gaz went inside, leaving me to commune with the cold, distant stars. All I wanted was a sign. Some small assurance that the two of us would meet again. I looked back up in time to see something come hurtling through the sky to crash in the yard, hurling me a short distance from where I'd been watching. I stood, and crept cautiously toward the small crater. I peered through the smoke, and as it cleared, I let myself smile broadly in awe.  
  
It was a sign. Not just any sign, but a sign just for me… I'd seen her ship only briefly, but I recognized it. For a brief shining second, I imagined that she might be inside, that I could take her in, tend to her injuries, be her guardian angel on a savage, hostile world.  
  
She wasn't inside. I knew it before I even pried the hatch open to look in the ship. Some controls were smashed, sabotage of some sort? A faint blinking light and a fading diagram of the ship on a display caught my attention. I couldn't read the strange alien characters of the irken alphabet, but the visual aid of the diagram was enough. The small piece of the ship shown repeatedly shooting away from the main body declared wordlessly that Tak had abandoned ship in an escape pod. She was gone, no telling where.  
  
I sat down in the seat that she'd vacated mere hours before. I closed my eyes, and listened to the strange sounds the device made around me, breathed the odd scent of it. She'd invested all her hopes and dreams in this small ship, it had probably been a sort of… home to her. Finally, I smiled. She had, intentionally or not, left me her vehicle. Her own space craft. Obviously, the fates intended that we meet again.  
  
It might take me years to learn how to fix the ship. Who knew how long to learn to fly it. But one day, I'd see her again. If she didn't return to me, I would seek her out.  
  
I've always been obsessed with aliens. It's… possible that love is just a new form for that obsession to take. One way or another, someday I'll see her again. I'll stand before her and see her as she truly is. I'll prove myself worthy to her.  
  
Someday Tak… Someday….  
  
  
  
A/Note: Good grief, that was some gooey fluff, wasn't it? Maybe this'll snap me out of the hiatus I keep putting UW on? 


	2. Dissecting Dib

A/Note: Yep, I'm continuing this. Aren't you horrified? I still want to do a little more (if possible) on Dib's thoughts on the whole Tak thing, but I got an idea for a cool title for an exploratory theme from Tak's p.o.v., so I'm gonna… Someone's already done this? Er… well I'm going ahead anyway! And hopefully I won't sound too much like anything that's already been said or anything. So anyway, this time it's from Tak's p.o.v., and she's talking to her SIR. She doesn't really strike me as the 'talk to yourself' type. Now Dib, sure. That boy can soliloquy like Hamlet. But Tak..? She's gotta have an audience. At least, imo. Feel free to criticize.  
  
"The Alternate Perspective: Dissecting Dib"  
  
There. That should be about right, I think. Can you hear me, Mimi? Ow! OW! Blast it, a simple yes or no would have sufficed! Much better. You've become inordinately silly just lately. I was forced to take you offline during the… oh, you remember that, do you? Hm. Yes, well just remember that the next time you try to grab at my face or person. What? No! No, I do NOT think that has anything to do with our mission!  
  
You DO remember the mission, don't you? You know, it's only a little thing called self-affirmation and recognition! Oh, you remember? Well I'm still not sure what happened to you. You just went… berserk.  
  
Dib?  
  
What about Dib? Oh for the… No. Look, let me just tell you what happened leading up to your… breakdown or whatever it was. We had tracked Zim to this… little ball of *dirt* and toxic fluid that goes by the name of Earth. The Tallest just let him stay here. Let him think that he was on a mission when they were really just glad to be through with him. They said the Earth was worthless. They said that it wasn't worth their time to send the armada, even if he DID somehow manage to subjugate it.  
  
So that was when… No, that comes later! Much later! That was when I came up with my brilliant plan. I'd MAKE the Earth valuable to the Tallest, and at the same time- No! No, no no! It had NOTHING to do with revenge! Well, okay. It wasn't *about* revenge. Revenge was just an extra bonus. Alright, so it was important to me. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to alert Zim to my presence. It wasn't necessary for him to let us in to cripple his base. I wanted him to know that it was me. ME! I, Tak, who he had once caused to be regulated to… janitorial duty… because I wasn't deemed worthy of the test to make me an invader, had taken away his so-called secret mission! I had ruined him! Me!  
  
But, in retrospect, I suppose that it was rather superfluous to assimilate myself into his class. What? Valentine's Day? That was a mere coincidence! It was total chance that I chose that day to infiltrate that disgusting "skool". And.. it.. was the perfect opportunity to endear myself to the rest of his class! Yes, that's it.  
  
Why are you looking at me like that? Of course not! I have no want to take part in some disgusting, gooey Earth celebration of slimy… affection! Affection is for the weak! Weak minded! I will soon be an invader, and invaders have no time for such ridiculous fluff. And more importantly, I am Irken! Irkens have no emotions! We have no need for… them. Don't we..?  
  
Of course we don't. Of course not. I've gotten side-tracked. What was I just talking about? Dib? I could have sworn that I was… Agh! Get OFF my HEAD! Alright, now stay there. Honestly, Mimi! Behave yourself, or I shall have to take you offline again. Well, alright. If it will make you behave, I'll tell you about the Dib-human.  
  
Yes, he was in Zim's class. He was an odd one, even in that group. It was impossible not to notice it immediately, just as much as it was impossible not to spot Zim's pathetic human disguise as ridiculously phoney. Dib had noticed this, apparently. I noticed him about to point out Zim's reaction to my.. special barbecue sauce. Yes, I definitely noticed him.  
  
How could you NOT notice him? He alone in that entire room… possibly the entire planet, had an air of anything approaching intelligence. You know, for a moment.. you'll think I've gone 'round the bend when I tell you this, but for just a moment when I first saw him, I thought that HE could be an alien. His eyes looked so big behind those.. what do they call them? Glasses, yes. Thank you. And his hair. That funny bit that sticks up almost looked like antennae! Poorly disguised antennae, at that. And well… he also seemed a bit too pale. Almost as if he spent a lot of time in hiding. As if he were afraid of discovery.  
  
Instead, it seems that he feared scrutiny and ridicule by those smelly primitive beasts in his class for quite rightly calling Zim an alien.  
  
You know, I feel almost… something. I'm not certain what to label this sensation. Almost not-good. That's the best I can do. I used him. I let him think I was his friend. And from the way he warmed up… I guess he didn't have many of those. Apparently he wasn't used to having anyone pay attention to him at all. The way he lit up when I made an offhand remark about a certain classmate of his being a bit on the odd side… it almost made me feel little painful stings of doubt.  
  
He told me everything, the poor fool. I couldn't have asked for a more full report on the threats the planet itself presented to irken-kind, or of the strengths and weaknesses of Zim's own base. Thanks to his information, when the time came to make our strike, I knew just how to approach, and almost exactly where to hit.  
  
Yes, Dib was an interesting… specimen. There was something about him that gave me the idea that I could spend my considerable lifetime studying him and never quite figure him out. His mere existence was like a direct challenge to me. Destroying the Earth and claiming my rightful place as an Invader seemed so easy by comparison.  
  
It nearly made me laugh a few times as he told me so excitedly about how we needed to stop the horrible alien threat that Zim represented. That was a challenge. I wondered long and hard if he was in earnest and truly believed me to be just a fellow… human-thing. Or if possibly he had seen through my practically flawless disguise and was challenging me. He had stood fast against Zim's many attempts to destroy his world, how would he respond to my own?  
  
Mimi, you've let me go off on quite a tangent. Alright, so you're sorry. Do you remember now? We went in to Zim's base and crippled it. Ha, the fool. Then we returned to our own base and went back to preparing the magma pump. It was an odd, melancholy time for me. I was so close to what I believed I wanted- NO! What I DID want! What I did want! I don't know why I keep having these doubts. It must be residual effect of my defeat. Yes, that has to be it.  
  
Where was I? Our base, yes. I anticipated an attack there. It would have been foolish not to. By either that fool Zim, or- or other parties. I wasn't shocked when the computers informed me that *he* was there. I took the lift down to confront him myself. Dib looked surprised to see me at first. He hid his camera, smiled disarmingly. Assured me that he could explain. Yes, I'm sure he could explain. He could explain that either that fool Zim had told him of my true nature, or that he suspected it himself. I really prefer to believe that it was the latter. It would be disappointing to learn that he had been completely fooled.  
  
Yes, I had a lot of, something… confidence, I suppose, in him. He would be such a more satisfying rival than Zim. I was reassured of his superiority when he gave me a sound glare in response to my attempt at wiping his mind of ever having seen the inside of the base. He wasn't affected. Neither was his sister, curiously. I suppose that the fact that they share a gene pool should have prepared me for the inevitable failure there.  
  
I don't believe I could have foreseen the small one spraying me with her drink in retaliation for my attempt, though. I mean honestly, where did that come from? But she did, and the light steam that escaped my disguise was all the advertisement needed about my true nature.  
  
But I didn't drop my disguise. I was strangely reluctant to do so. I started talking, nearly babbling really. I kept thinking that I could reason with him. Make him see that I was right. Told him about my operations, how I used that moronic old man "like Zim's robot parents, only good!" I was seeking his approval. I can see that now. I just… don't understand why. If I'd had just a little more time, I know I could have found out. I know that I could have solved the mystery of Dib and the strange things that were happening to me. Are happening to me.  
  
But then that idiot Zim appeared, blowing a hole in the side of the pump station. The insolence of the act infuriated me. All alone in MY base, he presumed to stop me!? I summoned you. You did beautifully, Mimi. Yes, I am very proud of your performance. You first removed Dib, who was truly the biggest threat to our operation, but remembered not to cause irreparable harm to him. After dropping Dib down the garbage chute, you turned on Zim and ejected he and his ridiculous excuse for a SIR from our base. Only now that Dib was gone did I turn off my disguise. I didn't care if his sister- unit saw as I fled to my ship. No, it's alright Mimi. We had no preparation for her strange soda weaponry. I don't blame you for the loss of your memory unit.  
  
I knew that we had to act fast. Dib would get your memory unit from his sister. He would find a way to learn the secrets it contained. Even if it meant allying with Zim. And so, it seems, he did. We activated the magma pump.  
  
I was disappointed to see that Zim had come to challenge me in his small, slightly outdated ship. I leaped into mine as you brought it around and so the chase was on. Just as we cleared the station, I saw someone drop from the underside of the ship. Of course. Dib was using Zim as a distraction while he went into the base himself to stop the pumps. Ingenious of him. Absolutely ingenious. I was anxious to finish our little spar with Zim so that we could return to the true battle below. I guess I knew that he would come. I made that off switch far larger than it had any call to be. I don't… know what I was thinking.  
  
Then as we fought Zim, something bizarre happened to you. I can only surmise that it was caused by that soda weapon or a malfunction induced by their use of your memory disk. I was finally forced to partially disassemble you to regain enough control to launch the escape pod. I caught Zim's ship for a moment. Tried one last desperate attempt to crush his smug little world by telling him the truth about his so-called mission. But it was a half-hearted effort. He ignored me. Literally blew me off even as I promised that I'd return to take what was mine.  
  
So here we are, Mimi. Adrift in unfamiliar space in this small escape pod. I think that I've repaired you fully. Or nearly fully. I'm puzzled by these strange personality shifts and the repeated malfunction of your optic colors. It's unnerving. It reminds me of.. myself lately. Yes Mimi, you heard me correctly. I keep experiencing strange… duality in myself. I keep thinking back to our time on Earth and considering things that I could have done differently. And I keep noticing that very few of them have to do with Zim.  
  
Why wouldn't I reveal myself? What was I afraid of? Why was I so careful to instruct you to be so careful about him? Why didn't I tell you to destroy him!? Logically, that's what I should have done considering that he was the biggest threat to our mission. And… that enormous off switch with the built- in reversal process… what was with that? Stars, Mimi… what's happened to me? I think we both must be malfunctioning. If we just hadn't been forced to abandon ship, I could already be back there, trying to find the answers.  
  
But… I'm afraid. I know that an invader fears nothing, but I'm not a full invader yet. I know I'm rationalizing. I'm terrified and at the same time consumed with an all-encompassing anger toward Zim all over again. First because he ruined my life. Now because he ruined… something else. I'm not sure what it was. I have no words for it and don't know what to make of it and it simultaneously gives me warmish… tingy feelings and scares me to my wits' end.  
  
What? Mimi, that's an absurd notion. I think you'd better let me see your backup memory module and try to repair it. Honestly, that's the most absurd thing that I've ever heard. Now where did I leave that spanner…?  
  
  
  
And so, somewhere in space, adrift at the mercy of the solar wind, Tak popped open the head of her loyal SIR unit and began searching for the source of the distressing happenings both in Mimi's behavior module and perhaps even in her own. Irkens had no semblance of emotional attachment after all. The time when that had been the norm was so far in the past that the words for the feelings buzzing about in Tak's mind that she steadfastly reassured herself that she was not having were almost forgotten.  
  
Almost. There was one word for it that survived solely in the ancient cast off memory unit of the patched-together SIR unit, but it was buried so far under protocol, Tak's own strict instructions, and second-hand confused Earth-babble that it had to struggle to be found by the crippled mind of the robot. Finally it was recalled. Brought to the surface. Suggested. Rejected. Mimi fell quiet and let her mistress work. So the time was not right just yet. But it was becoming more and more obvious as her master talked about her plans for the Earth that there was a large loophole built in. A loophole just a little taller than their former objective, Zim.  
  
The only thing certain was that they would eventually be going back to the Earth. Somehow, some way. Mistress had a way of giving her all to attain what she wanted. It was just a matter of time before she decided what it was that she wanted and came to grips with it. Mimi allowed herself a slightly goofy smile as she watched the stars spiral slowly past the viewing portal.  
  
  
  
A/Note: Yep, more gooey fluff than a great big wad of cotton candy! You don't even want to know how many times I watched "Tak, the Hideous New Girl" while writing this part. Really. You don't. 


	3. Tracking Tak 2: Dreams

A/Note: Although technically this would be considered part three, it's the second installment from Dib's point of view. What if Tak HAD been human? Well, pretty much the whole episode wouldn't have happened. But still, Dib can't help but wonder, even if it's only subconsciously.  
  
Tracking Tak pt. 2: Dreams  
  
"She's irken, and she's after my job and your planet."  
  
I slid down the shaft, and into the building. Carefully, but not quite carefully enough. I winced as my head collided with a bulky piece of equipment, then straightened. For a moment, the interior of the imposingly huge facility blurred, appearing warped, twisted. Maliciously alien, even.  
  
"What IS this place!?" I gasped, horrified by the visions that swam before my eyes. From beside me, I heard my sister's voice. "It's a hotdog stand." I shook my head, finally managing to clear it. I stared at Gaz, who was contentedly munching on a hotdog, then looked around again. My eyes showed me only a large, disturbingly normal warehouse.  
  
Gaz took another bite of her hotdog and looked at me skeptically. "Did you hit your head or something?" she asked sarcastically, not knowing that in this case she was absolutely correct. I couldn't quite bring myself to say anything, so I stared down futilely at the camera clutched in my hands. Still not quite convinced that the freakish magenta-hued apparition had been imagined, I raised the device to my face and watched the playback on the small viewing window. Sure enough… just a dark warehouse full of crates of condiments, buns, and huge refrigeration units.  
  
"No pictures, please!"  
  
Now that voice, of course I recognized. Tak climbed down onto the catwalk beside us and fixed both myself and my sister with a confused, angry glare. "What are you doing in here!? This warehouse is off-limits! How did you even get in?" she demanded.  
  
Gaz spoke up carelessly. "Staff entrance."  
  
Tak's eyes widened, then narrowed again. "So why are you here, then?" Gaz pointed at me. "My brother thinks you're an alien." She shrugged. "But he thinks everyone is an alien at some point. He used to think dad was one, even." The awkward moment passed uneasily, and the two of them shared a laugh at my folly. I couldn't do anything but stand there shifting my weight awkwardly and blush as I stuttered out a response that only made them laugh again.  
  
I chuckled a little myself. It was pretty absurd. Tak smiled slightly at me as Gaz turned and walked away, probably in search of a fresh soda to replace the one that she'd just finished draining. The world was perfect. Everything was wonderful. I'd never been so happy to be wrong. Or… wait… was I? Something felt wrong. Out of place.  
  
But what could be wrong? No aliens in sight. My sister was being civil. I was alone with a girl I liked, and she was smiling at me. She had such a pretty smile. So shy and understated, almost as if she was afraid to show any strong emotions. She blushed a little and looked to the side, down into the depths of the warehouse that yawned with lazy Earthly normality below.  
  
"So you think I'm an alien?" she giggled a little on that last word, prompting me to snicker a little as well. "Well… I was just… investigating the possibility." I admitted, embarrassed but thrilled that she was still speaking to me. She gave another of those tiny soft smiles. "So what did you decide?" she asked, and for a minute I forgot it was a question, and that being so, it probably needed an answer. I was watching the way that the lights played off her sparkling eyes.  
  
"Dib?"  
  
Those eyes… they weren't right, either. What was wrong with this picture?  
  
"In a second, you won't recall having seen any of this."  
  
My mind jumped in surprise and I stared at her. "What!?" She suddenly frowned, and the image of Tak the human girl flickered, then faded away to nothingness. The warehouse warped and twisted as if alive, finally resolving itself into a horrible machine, busily pumping the molten core of the planet into emptiness. I was confronted by a floating vid screen, and on it, was the face I'd see only on the playback machine in Zim's base. It was as if time had suddenly jumped forward to my second visit to her base.  
  
"Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic."  
  
I clenched my fists, angry at the dismissal. "Tak! But… why!?"  
  
"You saw Mimi's memory disk. You know my reasons! I need to destroy this planet! I HAVE to prove myself! I MUST succeed at all costs!"  
  
I staggered back from the monitor, stricken by her accusatory tone. "You used me…"  
  
She nodded curtly. "It is the nature of the Invaders. It's nothing personal, Dib. We just find the best source of information on a planet, then use them against their world to further our own cause."  
  
My eyes stung. "You… USED me." I looked back up at her image, floating there serenely as the huge machines continued working efficiently at their task around us. "So are you happy, then?"  
  
Her smug look faltered. I pressed my advantage. "Your plan will probably work, I guess. Zim won't be able to stop you alone. And if your leaders like snacks as much as you both apparently think they do, they'll probably give you your precious status. Congratulations, Invader."  
  
Her large blue-violet eyes blinked in what I could almost swear was confusion. "But… Dib… You're not going to try and stop me?"  
  
That caught me off-guard. "What?"  
  
She pointed at the large On/Off switch on a nearby wall. "You're not going to save your world? I mean, the switch is right there! It's not like there's anyone guarding it!"  
  
I stared at her. A display came up super-imposed on her image. "The process is 60% complete. Dib, it's almost at the point of no return… aren't you going to do something?" Her voice was different. Almost panicked.  
  
"You WANT me to stop you… don't you? But… why?"  
  
"I can't explain it all. I don't even understand it! But I knew Zim would never look for something so simple. Ever. He might try blowing the facility up, but not looking for a simple off switch. You know enough about his methods to know that it's true. I sort of.. expected that you might try to stop me yourself. I just wanted…"  
  
Realization hit me like a spray of soda in the face. "It was a test. A test with an easy payoff! You even labeled the switch in ENGLISH, for crying out loud! But… a test for what?"  
  
She looked so sad. So alone. I reached for the screen, but it vanished just as her human image had. As the dream faded, I think I heard her voice. "I'm… s-sor-ry, Dib." She stumbled over the word, and I could tell that it wasn't one she was accustomed to using, even in her own tongue. "I don't understand it… myself…"  
  
My eyes opened, revealing the stars smiling down at me through the gleaming filter of Tak's lost spaceship. I sat up and adjusted my glasses. I must have fallen asleep while attempting repairs to it. Soon the sky would begin to lighten, my watch informed me in that matter-of-fact way that cold, unemotional electronics have of telling you the inevitable. I had to drag the tarp back over the ship in its crater before the sun and our neighbors arose.  
  
I reflected on my dream as I climbed out of the ship. Was it my own wishful thinking? Or maybe something more? I've read about how with humans, places or objects can become so filled with a person's emotional energy that they seem to haunt it, to fill it with their presence even after they have left it. This phenomena has been suggested as an explanation for psychic occurrences, and even hauntings. A person, even while alive, may have left a strong enough personal attachment to a home for you to believe that you see them walking down the hallway at the time each day that they habitually went to pick up their kids from school. Or suddenly feel inexplicably sad when standing in a certain spot, answering the phone, and later be chilled to learn that is where the former owner received some horrible news of personal tragedy.  
  
Could I have just experienced something similar?  
  
I finished pulling the concealing tarp over my secret and checked to make sure it was secure. Dad wouldn't notice if the entire Irken Armada was parked in our backyard, but I couldn't take a chance that one of the neighbors might see something suspicious about a downed alien spacecraft sitting in a huge hole in the yard.  
  
Satisfied, I looked back up at the sky. No, at the stars. All my life they facinated me. From the first moment that my dad showed me their majestic beauty through the powerful eye of his telescope, I knew that they held wondrous secrets. Secrets that I was determined that I would find out. Secrets that would hold the keys to my future. And I'd stare up at them in wonder, and reach towards them. Because I knew, if I reached just a little bit higher, that I could finally touch them.  
  
I hadn't caught them tonight, but I know that some evening soon, I will. And maybe… just maybe… an understanding can be reached. 


End file.
